Osoyoos Desert Society

What We Do

Wildlife Cameras

The Southern Interior of British Columbia is home to an incredible diversity of wildlife, including more than 300 species of birds, 7 species of snakes and 14 kinds of bats. Some species, like the ghostly pale pallid bat, are found nowhere else in Canada. Others, including more than 20 kinds of insects and spiders, are found nowhere else in the world. Many of these plant and animal species are at risk – nearly 25 percent of all the endangered and threatened vertebrate species in the province live here.

The Osoyoos Desert Centre provides protected habitat for many of these plant and animal species. Records are kept of species sighted, along with data on breeding and other behaviours. In addition, the Desert Centre serves as a site for researchers conducting a variety of scientific studies.

Much of the knowledge of what animals are present at the Desert Centre comes from scat, fur, burrows and other evidence of their presence. To better learn which animals the site supports and to increase understanding of their behaviour, the Desert Society has installed wildlife cameras to collect data with minimal disturbance to the animals of interest. These cameras collect photo sequences of animals and their day-to-day activities, and provide information on the time of day, weather and temperature, and corresponding behaviour. Images captured in the project are shared on the Society’s website and the information collected is incorporated into tours and other educational programs.

Our thanks to TD Friends of the Environment Foundation for making the Wildlife Camera Project possible.